Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic

Did you hear lots of champagne corks popping on Saturday? If not, then you clearly weren’t at the 9th annual Polo Classic hosted by the iconic champagne brand Veuve Clicquot.

The event was held at Liberty State Park in New Jersey, so us New Yorkers checked in at Battery Park before waiting in very long lines for ferries to shuttle us across the Hudson.

The wait wasn’t too boring, luckily, since it made for some amazing people watching!

Finally, we boarded the ferry and headed off to scenic… New Jersey.

We arrived at Liberty State Park and began walking towards the event…

And walking… and walking… and walking…

Although it was probably realistically only a 20-minute walk, since it was in the sun (and sans champagne) it felt like forever! There were Polo Classic employees scattered along the path cheering us on. It almost felt like a marathon! “You can do it!” “Keep going!” “You’re almost there!”

Wondering what is the proper dress code for polo matches? Definitely wear light fabrics in summery colors. Ladies, wedges or flat sandals are perfect footwear. You will be walking around on grass, so heels are inappropriate for this occasion (and will make you look like an amateur).

If you would like to wear a casual hat to keep the sun off your face that’s fine, but ladies this is not an occasion for large hats or fascinators! You do NOT dress for polo the way you would for the derby! If your hat would be appropriate for the derby, it is not appropriate for polo.

There were tons of great photo stations set up, which I loved, obviously!

There are two options for seating. You can opt for the Rosé Garden (cute name, right?) which is the VIP area. If you’re into celebrity spotting this is a great place to do it.

Or, you can choose general admission, which has open lawn seating (so bring blankets!). I recommend choosing whichever option most of your friends choose. It’s always more fun to watch polo in a big group!

You can bring water and food into the grounds, which I definitely recommend. There are food trucks, but the lines are usually very, very long, so why waste your time? You can’t bring alcohol, but unsurprisingly there is plenty of Veuve Clicquot champagne available for purchase!

At 2pm the polo match begins! Nacho Figueras is the player to watch. Known as the “David Beckham of polo,” Nacho is one of the best players in the world. More importantly for the ladies, he is incredibly attractive and models for Ralph Lauren! You can find his pictures here.

Halfway through the match, the spectators are invited onto the field for divot stomping (using your feet to replace the mounds of earth that have been torn up by the ponies’ hooves).

Although, in this day and age, divot stomping is really more of an opportunity to take selfies of you and your friends pretending to stomp divots!

We were not above such behavior…

Divot stomping is also a great time to socialize.

Then it’s back to polo.

Polo matches are very short (only about an hour and a half) so afterwards everyone hangs out and enjoys picnicking and being outdoors. And champagne.

Lots and lots of champagne.

The ferries back to the city run on a continual basis, so you can leave whenever you would like. The event organizers insist that there’s no pickup and drop off at Liberty State Park, however it was very easy to have an Uber come pick us up right outside the event. I definitely recommend that as a way to get home, otherwise you have to wait in line for the ferry again, and reverse the entire process that you went through when traveling to the match.

To stay updated on next year’s Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic, click here. It’s a summer event that shouldn’t be missed!

Just don’t ask me the final score… none of us paid much attention to the actual polo match!